3 Tips On How To Find The Perfect Commercial Construction Contractor… And Be A Great Construction Client

Earlier this spring, I had the opportunity to talk with Restaurant Development + Design Magazine for an article on “How to Find the Perfect Construction Partner” that just published in the July/August issue. The final piece is a great resource that’s relevant to pretty much every commercial real estate sector – not just restaurant development – and covers important points that should be on anyone’s checklist when vetting and choosing a construction partner for a commercial real estate project.

Providing a clear scope of work and investing in quality architectural drawings are key to a successful client-contractor relationship, according to Englewood Construction.

As part of my interview, the reporter turned the tables on the topic and asked for my perspective on what construction firms look for in a great client. It’s an excellent point because any successful contractor-client relationship is a two-way street built on having two parties that respect each other, hold up their respective ends of the partnership, and just generally feel good about working together. Plus, once a client finds a great construction partner, the best way to hold onto them is by being a good customer themselves. Here’s some of what I shared in the article, plus some additional thoughts:

1. Be Selective in the Bidding Process

If the project is a competitive bid, some clients are tempted to send it out for pricing to a laundry list of construction firms. But for us, it’s a major red flag when a client is willing to take a number from anyone and everyone just to get to the lowest price. There’s a huge range of construction firms out there, from well-established, respected companies all the way down to what I call “pickup truck” contractors – who are major risks when it comes to reliability and follow-through. Not to mention, there are factors other than price that should be weighed when selecting a construction partner, from the firm’s reputation to their portfolio of relevant experience. It’s well worth the time for clients to vet firms they are considering in advance and ask a select few to participate in the bidding process. Doing so tells us they are as serious about the project as we are.

2. Invest in Quality Drawings and Documents

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of hiring a good architect and engineer and paying them well for a quality set of project plans and documents. While we’ve certainly worked with clients based on barely more than a sketch, that is far from optimal – and signals to us that the client might not be fully committed to a project or will be cutting corners at every turn. Plus, it not only makes our job that much more difficult when we have to interpret the client’s intent from limited information, but it can also lead to costly change orders for the client if details are missed or misinterpreted because they aren’t clearly spelled out.

3. Look for Partners, not Vendors

By far, the clients we love working with time and time again are those that think of us as a true partner in their business, rather than just a vendor they choose based on price. A trusted general contractor has real expertise to offer, and can help make sure your job runs smoothly by anticipating and heading off issues before construction starts – and even value engineer the project in ways you or your architect might not have considered. Our most successful client relationships are the ones where we’re brought to the table early and often, and have an opportunity to offer input on a project even before plans are finalized and bidding begins. In the best scenarios, this leads to repeat business and a long-standing relationship that is fruitful and beneficial on both sides.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

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3 Reasons Your Commercial Contractor Should Be Your First Call When The Unexpected Strikes

For anyone that owns or operates a commercial property, there are bound to be unanticipated repairs or surprise construction issues that pop up. But every once in a while, the truly unexpected strikes. And so far in 2020, we’ve already experienced two nationwide instances where CRE owners are dealing with situations they probably never imagined.

As a national commercial contractor, Englewood Construction was able to tap resources to assist a national retail brand client with boarding up locations across the country for security purposes.

First was the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders. From a commercial facility standpoint, this initially involved securing properties in preparation to be closed for what turned out to be a number of weeks. Now, facility owners, operators and tenants are mostly in the process of reopening – and in many cases making quick physical changes such as installing hand sanitizing stations, touch-free entries and spacing barriers in order to resume business while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

And earlier this month, just as businesses began to cautiously reopen, property owners in cities across the country unexpectedly dealt with widespread looting and vandalism following the death of George Floyd. Many businesses – from national brands to mom and pop shops – scrambled to board up locations in areas where looting was anticipated, and deal with resulting property damage.

In these types of scenarios and more, it can be difficult for a CRE owner to know exactly who to call first for help. Afterall, these situations don’t exactly fall under the usual parameters of “commercial construction.” But it turns out your commercial general contractor is exactly who you should call when you need this type of assistance – and quickly. Here’s why:

1. The GC already knows you and your facility:

When we work with a client, that relationship stays in place long after construction is done. So, when a client – former or current – calls with an urgent request, we’re there to help. That was the case with one national retail brand and its Michigan Avenue flagship store we completed several years ago. We were their first call this month when they needed help boarding up the storefront when looting was expected in Chicago. Because we knew the client and were familiar with the property, it was easy to jump in.

On that note, when an urgent facility need comes up, it’s always best to call someone who already knows the property – such as the construction firm that built it. For another retail construction client we’ve partnered with for years on commercial construction projects across the country, we know their facilities inside and out and so we were able to provide remote, virtual advice on how to secure their stores and reset settings on automatic building systems in anticipation of closing during stay-at-home orders.

2. The GC is probably already doing the same work for others:

Many unexpected situations – from the current pandemic to weather events like a hurricane – impact an entire community or geographic area. That means if you’re contacting your GC for emergency facility assistance, they’re probably already aware of the situation and are making preparations to help as many clients as possible – such as stocking up on materials in advance and contacting the subcontractors they trust most to be on call to assist preferred clients.

There are also advantages in numbers. With the recent looting in Chicago, the Englewood team was able to help multiple clients more efficiently because so many called us for help boarding up storefronts. Not only did we know which board up services were available and which were booked up, but we also were able to coordinate work for clients located in proximity to each other.

3. The GC has the right connections:

Not sure who to call to board up your storefront windows? Don’t know what type of supplier to contact for touchless entry systems? Well, your commercial contractor does. And for brands with locations across the country, it’s especially valuable to have a national commercial contractor on speed dial, since we have resources we can tap in nearly any market

Another advantage is if trades are swamped responding to a local issue, we can tap our contacts from the surrounding region to come in and help.

Besides having the knowledge and connections to know who to call in a variety of situations, a good GC can usually handle general carpentry work and other services with their own staff. On more than one occasion, we’ve loaded up an Englewood truck with supplies and sent our team out to handle repairs or cleanup after a large-scale weather event.

We always say our goal is to become a partner to our clients rather than just another vendor, and that is never more important than when times get tough. Remember your GC is a resource and an expert, and put them at the top of your list to call when the unexpected happens.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

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Prepping For Reentry: 8 Facility Maintenance Steps For Reopening Commercial Properties

A version of this post was published in Illinois Real Estate Journal as a bylined article from Englewood Construction.

According to Englewood Construction, prepping commercial facilities to reopen should include reviewing mechanical systems and rescheduling missed preventative maintenance appointments (*photo taken pre-pandemic).

Across the country, states are in various phases of reentry and preparing their plans to roll back stay-at-home orders that were put in place to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in Englewood Construction’s home state of Illinois, we are on track to move into Phase 3 of Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan at the end of the month, which will allow offices, manufacturing, retail and salons to reopen to the public under specific guidelines. As the economy reawakens and businesses prepare to resume operations under this new normal, commercial property owners and operators in virtually every commercial real estate sector should also be making plans for reopening facilities that, in many cases, have been unoccupied for weeks if not months.

Part of that preparation process should absolutely involve a facility maintenance check to ensure the property is ready to welcome back tenants or employees. After all, just as most of us are emerging from the pandemic shutdown in desperate need of a haircut and with a laundry list of missed medical and dental appointments to reschedule, many commercial facilities also fell behind on regular preventative maintenance appointments. Plus, some building mechanicals will require extra attention after lack of use, and automated systems may need to be adjusted to match new schedules. Here’s a list of important items Englewood’s facilities management division recommends property owners and operators review as they prepare for reentry:

1. Hopefully, routine facility maintenance checks have already been happening during the closure, since issues overlooked for a few days or weeks – like a water valve break or small roof leak – can easily escalate into big problems. As a continuation of these checks, visit the property for a thorough walkthrough prior to reopening. Check all mechanical systems, identify any problems and make a list of items to address.
2. Flush sewer lines and drains to make sure valves and seals are working. Sinks, floor drains and toilets all have “P” traps that hold just enough water to keep sewer gas from rising up into the space; when they aren’t used regularly, the water in the P trap evaporates and sewer odor escapes. If this happens, pour a half gallon of water mixed with 1 cup white vinegar down the lines and the odor will eventually dissipate.
3. Review any automated systems that were adjusted or shut off while the property was closed, such as heating/cooling or timers for lighting. If regular business hours will be different due to a phased reopening – or if some areas of the facility will remain closed or total occupancy is expected to be lower than usual – adjust those automated settings accordingly.
4. Many regular facility maintenance and cosmetic “refresh” projects are easier to accomplish when a facility is unoccupied or has lower traffic. Consider using the weeks prior to reopening to tackle work such as painting or new carpet/flooring installation, which is typically classified as essential business under stay-at-home orders and can be safely accomplished following social distancing measures.
5. Check facility records for any annual property inspections that were missed due to closures – such as sprinkler system, fire alarms, backflow preventers and other items – and reschedule with the appropriate groups.
6. Begin rescheduling any preventative maintenance appointments that were postponed during the closure, including regular servicing of vital systems such as HVAC, plumbing and fire protection. These trades are likely to get booked up in the months ahead as many property owners and managers play catch-up on missed service calls, so get a jump start by scheduling them right away – even before facilities reopen, since in most cases this type of work is continuing under local stay-at-home orders.
7. It’s also advisable to schedule future preventative maintenance appointments now for the next six months or more. As the economy returns to normal and more and more facilities reopen, there is likely to be a surge of activity and demand for contractors – so get back on track with maintenance schedules and get those appointments on the books now.
8. Finally, consider what immediate changes are necessary to prepare the facility to reopen and operate under social distancing recommendations. While some larger-scale reconfiguration might ultimately be necessary and require the expertise of an architect and contractor, a facility maintenance provider can be a great resource to retrofit a space with items such as hand sanitizer stations, touchless plumbing fixtures, automatically opening doors and other design features that can help a commercial facility quickly and safely get back to business.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

from Hard Hat Chat http://commercialconstructionblog.com/prepping-for-reentry-8-facility-maintenance-steps-for-reopening-commercial-properties/
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Commercial Construction News: Celebrating Women in Construction and Englewood Construction’s Own Tara Fox

Tara Fox is a senior project manager with Englewood Construction.

As our Englewood Construction team works together to continue serving our commercial construction clients while also navigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our industry, we are more thankful than ever for our staff of dedicated and experienced employees. For this month’s blog post, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight one of those employees: Tara Fox, a senior project manager.

Last month, Tara was part of a terrific RE Journals article that published during Women in Construction Week, which was celebrated the first week of March. The story profiled several women in construction, sharing how they got their start and their perspective on working in this industry.

Here’s an excerpt from the article with Tara’s responses:

How did you get into the construction industry?

In the past I worked with the wife of the owner of Englewood Construction, and she urged me on several occasions to submit a resume to her husband’s company. I was always hesitant because, at that time, I knew nothing about construction, but I finally followed her advice and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. My first position with Englewood was at the administrative level, and 18 years later I’ve worked my way up to senior project manager. I have been very fortunate in the mentors, experiences and opportunities presented to me that have allowed me to grow in this industry.

Describe a typical day on the job.

One of the things I love most about this job – and working in construction – is that every day is different. There truly is not a “typical” day. Each day, and each project, provides an opportunity to learn something new, solve different challenges and develop new relationships and partnerships.

What have been some of the biggest obstacles (if any)?

One of the biggest challenges for anyone in this industry is maintaining work-life balance. Construction is simply not a five-days-a-week, nine-to-five type of job. It requires a lot of early mornings, late nights, weekends and travel. Balancing work and family is an ever-evolving process and something everyone in this field has to work at every day.

What was your favorite construction project and why?

It’s difficult to choose just one, because there’s always something unique and interesting about every project. One that stands out from several years ago is the 23rd Street Café at McCormick Place in Chicago. We combined part of the floor that was used for shows with two other concepts that we demoed to build out the café and created a new pedestrian walkway bridge for access. Not only were there interesting design elements involved and the challenge of coordinating around shows and events that were taking place during construction, but there were also great people involved on all aspects of the project.

Englewood’s ongoing work with American Girl to build and renovate American Girl Place stores across the country would also make my list of favorites, especially the locations we built in Orlando and Nashville. Everyone involved on these projects were truly partners throughout the duration of construction and even after completion — it’s very rewarding to establish that level of relationship with our clients and trade partners.

What do you like most about your job?

The construction business is built on relationships, and I really enjoy the opportunity to interact with so many different people in my work. Establishing strong connections and loyalties with clients, trades and vendors across the country is invaluable in being successful in this industry.

How has the participation of women in construction changed over the years and where do you see it heading?

Being a woman in this field was definitely unusual when I got into the industry, but that has changed exponentially over the years. Now, women are commonplace in pretty much all disciplines of construction, and we’re growing, flourishing and stepping into leadership positions. I also see more and more young women entering the field, with many of them participating in construction management or engineering programs at universities or entering trade schools. That’s a great thing for this industry, where there are so many opportunities across a variety of skills.

We’re very proud of women like Tara who help make up our Englewood Construction team. In the weeks and months ahead, we know it will be all of our employees, and the many skilled and dedicated people working across all areas of construction, that will see us through the current challenge our world and our industry face.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

from Hard Hat Chat http://commercialconstructionblog.com/women-in-construction-tara-fox/
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The New Normal: Commercial Construction Continues in Unprecedented COVID-19 Times

Bill Di Santo, president, Englewood Construction”

This is undoubtedly an unprecedented time in our country as efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) are impacting all of us on both personal and professional levels. We are in uncharted territory, but amid this “new normal” Englewood Construction remains open and committed to serving our clients — while also following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as industry associations, to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, subcontractors and project partners.

As a national commercial construction firm with active projects across the country, we are monitoring this situation on many fronts and in many markets. Currently, construction sites are open and work is continuing in most states where we have projects underway — including our home state of Illinois where construction is deemed an “essential” business exempt from the current stay-at-home directive put in place by our governor. In addition to our construction operations, our Facilities Management team also continues to be active, helping clients address urgent maintenance issues and plan for ongoing maintenance work in this new landscape. We also have a pipeline of projects in preconstruction services or under negotiation, and those functions continue uninterrupted.

We are counseling clients about special considerations during this time, including:

• Extra precautions on job sites to follow guidelines for social distancing and cleaning/sanitization of work areas
• Planning additional time for permitting and inspections in areas where municipalities are closed or operating with a limited staff in compliance with shelter-in-place orders
• Potential delays of material deliveries due to products coming from overseas or manufacturing shut-downs in areas with shelter-in-place orders

Our Englewood Construction executive team has decades of combined experience in this industry, and we are drawing on that depth of expertise and perspective to serve our clients, staff and industry partners in this new landscape. Our country has been through challenging times before, but if there’s one thing I know to be true, it’s that we work in a resilient industry. As noted in this recent Slate article: “Seven million Americans work in construction, nearly three times as many as work for the federal government … If there’s one thing that keeps our country moving, it’s building.”

As always, we truly appreciate the relationships we enjoy with our clients, subcontractors, suppliers and other partners in this industry. We look forward to continuing to work with you now and into the future.

Bill Di Santo
President
Tel: 847-233-9200 x710

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at bill.disanto@englewoodconstruction.com
www.englewoodconstruction.com

from Hard Hat Chat http://commercialconstructionblog.com/commercial-construction-covid-%e2%80%a819/
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Shopping Mall Development Trends: Are Ghost Kitchens the Answer for Vacant Mall Space?

CRE developers and owners are continuing to think creatively about filling vacant shopping mall space, and recently the idea of bringing in “ghost kitchens” to fill obsolete retail square footage has started to gain traction. The Wall Street Journal recently covered this trend in an article noting a major mall owner is partnering with a hospitality group to create ghost kitchens – stand-alone food service facilities dedicated to fulfilling app-based delivery orders for either an existing restaurant or a unique brand – in unused shopping center retail space.

As a national commercial construction firm with extensive experience in both the retail and restaurant construction sectors, we’re watching this trend with interest. While the name “ghost kitchen” is new, various food concepts have been using off-site commissary kitchens for many years. However, that strategy has been more prevalent with fast food and fast-casual brands with limited in-store space for food prep; items are prepared in a commissary, then trucked to various locations for sale.

By comparison, the ghost kitchen trend is largely being driven by the growing popularity of food delivery apps such as Grubhub and Uber Eats. Restaurants, seeing a big uptick in revenue stream from the delivery side of their business thanks to these apps, are seeking new ways to handle those operations and not to interfere with their regular dining service. Enter the ghost kitchen.

From our perspective, bringing ghost kitchens to malls certainly isn’t a bad use of vacant retail space. It makes a lot of sense for mall owners, who are willing to consider almost any concept that will generate rent. And for restaurant operators, the prime, central locations many shopping centers offer can be a benefit for their delivery business. That said, there are some ghost kitchen construction costs and considerations involved whenever you convert a commercial space from one purpose to another, especially when the end use will be food service. Here are several to keep in mind:

Infrastructure Intricacies: A commercial kitchen requires a tremendous amount of mechanical infrastructure, and no matter its size will have more water, waste and gas lines installed than many other commercial construction projects. Upgrading existing lines to meet the higher power and water needs of a food prep facility will likely be a necessary – and costly – element of converting a former retail space to a ghost kitchen.

Layout Limitations: The layout of a commercial kitchen is dictated by access points for those same water, waste and gas lines. In an existing space, especially one not originally designed as a commercial kitchen, walls and flooring may have to be torn up in order to create new “stub ups” and “stub outs” in the right positions to connect the planned commercial kitchen equipment and fixtures.

Mechanical Must-Haves: Unless a ghost kitchen is being created in a second-generation restaurant/food service space, the project will probably entail adding the mechanicals that are specific to a full commercial cook line, including the black iron ductwork and fans that tie the kitchen exhaust system to the outside, as well as a fire suppression system. In some cases, the cost of retrofitting a space with these features could make or break a project, so it’s advisable to enlist a general contractor experienced in restaurant kitchen construction to help anticipate and plan for these critical elements.

Whether adding ghost kitchens as tenants will be a successful strategy to help revive flagging malls remains to be seen – and the feasibility of these projects from a construction standpoint will definitely be a factor. But ultimately, the consideration of this type of non-traditional concept is definitely the kind of out-of-the-box thinking needed to help the retail sector regain its footing.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

from Hard Hat Chat http://commercialconstructionblog.com/shopping-mall-development-trends-are-ghost-kitchens-the-answer-for-vacant-mall-space/
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Commercial Construction 2020 Trends: Cannabis Retail, Senior Housing and Restaurant Construction Lead the Way

Englewood’s business development team attended ICSC’s CenterBuild conference in December, where conversations revolved around retail activity and opportunities in 2020. The event also included ICSC’s 2019 North America Design and Development Awards, where Englewood, along with client American Girl and project partners, was recognized for its work on the American Girl Place store in New York City.

It has become a bit of a tradition that we start off the year for Hard Hat Chat with a look at the commercial real estate trends we think will impact our work in the months ahead. As we kick off 2020, we have a lot of optimism about our industry and the sectors we’re active in, but we also recognize there will be challenges ahead. Here are four commercial construction and commercial real estate trends we expect to shape our business and our industry:

1. The Green Rush Surges On:
Between 2018 and 2019, Englewood’s work in the cannabis industry grew by 100%, and we expect that trajectory to continue as more states legalize recreational marijuana use and cannabis firms expand into new markets. As we’ve discussed previously on this blog, there are unique challenges and opportunities associated with work in this arena. We recently weighed in on the topic of cannabis and CRE in a Chicago Construction News article on 2020 commercial real estate trends – here’s an excerpt:

“These projects don’t follow the typical progression because cannabis firms frequently move forward with construction planning while they are still pursuing licensing in order to be up and running when legalization goes into effect,” Taylor said.

“The review and approval process is also much more in-depth, since many municipalities are still interpreting new state laws and deciding what regulations they’ll add at the local level. While the rules vary from state to state, it’s helpful for our clients that we’ve worked on cannabis projects in multiple markets, so we can anticipate questions or issues that are likely to arise at the municipal level.”

2. Senior Living Operators Thinking Long Term:
There’s been talk in the senior living sector that construction of brand-new senior communities has caught up to demand, and some media outlets are even saying senior housing is facing a glut. However, we expect senior living construction remodel and refresh projects will continue to be strong in the next decade due to owners’ and operators’ long-term property investment strategies. When we first started working in the senior living space, the bulk of our projects involved updating older properties to compete with the new-construction options coming to market. Now, even with properties that were built or remodeled within the last five years, we have owners coming back to us to make cosmetic updates and reconfigure amenities and common areas as part of the ongoing maintenance of these communities and to keep properties current for the long haul.

3. Retail Developers Will Play All Sides: 
Our team just returned from the International Council of Shopping Centers’ CenterBuild conference in Phoenix, where conversations revolved around many of the same topics we’ve been hearing about all year – retail activity being down, using entertainment-based concepts to revitalize traditional malls, and discussions of what to do with vacant mall anchor space. While predicting that retail will continue to struggle to regain its footing in 2020 is nothing new, we do expect the coming year – and the coming decade – will be a time of transformation for the retail sector as developers and brands alike experiment to find a successful formula.

For example, one new strategy we started to see in 2019, which could grow as a trend in 2020, is major mall developers either buying out or partnering with retail concepts and then using those brands to populate their own vacant tenant space. This just goes to show how retail players are exploring their business from all angles and taking a non-traditional approach as they work to stay relevant with consumers.

4. Restaurant Construction Continues To Deliver:
Our work with national restaurant brands held steady in 2019, and all signs point to this sector continuing to feed a pipeline of work in the New Year. That will include new-construction projects with brands either expanding their footprints or relocating to better-positioned real estate in current markets, as well as remodel and renovation work for brands refreshing existing restaurants and refining their concepts.

Another interesting restaurant construction trend we are seeing in terms of renovation jobs is restaurant groups reconfiguring back-of-house space to accommodate growth in their delivery and catering business. Many brands are seeing an uptick in revenue from these areas, particularly with the popularity of services such as Uber Eats and Grubhub, and so we are working with them to create separate kitchen and prep areas for delivery and catering orders to keep that function from interfering with service in their main dining room. There’s also new opportunity in the construction of “ghost kitchens” – stand-alone food service locations that are either an extension of an existing restaurant or a unique brand, which are entirely dedicated to fulfilling orders via food delivery apps.

Happy New Year from Englewood Construction! We look forward to our next decade of sharing commercial construction insights and trends with you on Hard Hat Chat. If you want to talk, contact me here.

Chuck Taylor, Director of Operations
Tel: 847-233-9200 x712

Questions? Comments?
You can reach me at CTaylor@eci.build
www.EnglewoodConstruction.com

from Hard Hat Chat http://commercialconstructionblog.com/commercial-construction-2020-trends/
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